As a buyer or category manager are you aware of how weather impacts crops?
Today’s post is by Gayl Southard, Administrative Consultant for SafeSourcing.
The holidays are upon us. November brings lots of “pumpkin” products to mind such as pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pies, pumpkin bread, etc.
Sugar, or pie pumpkins, the product used in cans of Libby’s, are smaller in shape and have more flesh than other types of pumpkins. The pulp is sweeter and less grainy in texture. Illinois, the largest pumpkin-producing state is blaming the record rainfall in June for washing out their sugar pumpkin crop.
Jane Moran, owner of Moran’s Orchard in Neoga, reported that their pumpkin crops were washed out in June. Sugar pumpkins were replanted, and then it rained more some more! Moran’s Orchard ended up purchasing pumpkins at auction twice a week.
Libby indicated that the pumpkin crops could be off by a third this year in Illinois – where about 90 percent of the pumpkins grown in the U.S. come from. Roz O’Hearn, corporate and brand affairs director, indicated there will be little, if any left after the holiday season, saying that “once we ship the remainder of the 2015 harvest, we’ll have no more Libby’s pumpkin to sell until harvest 2016.” FoxNews.com, 10/7/15
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We look forward to your comments.
